ONE GAME SHORT...of heading to Columbus was Miami East as it fell in the regional final to the top ranked team in the state, Versailles.

March 2, 2008 – VANDALIA
The Miami East Lady Vikings are arguably one of the top three or four girls basketball teams in the state of Ohio. Unfortunately, Miami East was knocked out of the tournament by perhaps the top team in the state of Ohio, Versailles.

We'll have to wait for the state tournament to take place to see just where Versailles stands, but the Lady Tigers have been as perfect as possible throughout a tough regular season schedule and tournament road. Versailles now stands at 26-0 entering the final four in Columbus.

Miami East was also perfect throughout the season, except when it came to facing Versailles. Both of Miami East's losses have come to the Lady Tigers in tight contests until the final minutes of the fourth quarter. In each contest, Versailles managed to pull away down the stretch as the Lady Vikings finished 24-2 on the season.

In the rematch for the Regional Championship, Versailles took control early for a 13-8 first quarter lead and a 21-14 half time lead.

Much like the first meeting, Miami East had a difficult time dealing with the size difference as Justine Raterman and Emily Bohman combined for 31 points - 20 points from Raterman.

But Miami East was able to hang close with Versailles and cut the margin to 40-37 with just under 3:00 to play in the game.

The Lady Tigers stiffened defensively and didn't allow a single point to Miami East the rest of the way en route to a 10-point win.

As painful as the loss is for Miami East, anticipation for a new season is on the horizon as all but two players return next year.

Hopefully they'll get a rubber match with Versailles.

Scoring by Quarters:
Miami East ..........8.......14......27.....37
Versailles ..........13.......21......35.....47

Miami East Scoring:
Rebecca Leffel - 15
Katie Denlinger - 7
Katie Mengos - 6
Ashley Rice - 5
Lottie Hageman - 4

Versailles Scoring:
Justine Raterman - 20
Emily Bohman - 11
Emily Eilerman - 7
Megan Campbell - 5
Emily Frey - 3

Three-Point Scoring:
Miami East: Katie Denlinger (2), Rebecca Leffel (1)
Versailles: Justine Raterman (1)